Manila Light Rail Transit System
The Manila Light Rail Transit System, popularly and informally known as the Manila LRT or LRT, is a metropolitan rail system serving the Metro Manila area in the Philippines. Although referred to as a light rail system because it originally used light rail vehicles, it has characteristics of a rapid transit (metro) system, such as high passenger throughput, exclusive right-of-way and later use of full metro rolling stock. The system is operated by the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA), a government corporation attached to the Department of Transportation (DOTr), as well as the Light Rail Manila Corporation. Along with the Manila Metro Rail Transit System, and Philippine National Railways, the system makes up Metro Manila's rail infrastructure. Two lines are operated by LRTA. Line 1 serves 500,000 passengers daily while the Line 2 serves 200,000 passengers. Its 33.4 kilometers (20.8 miles) of mostly elevated route form two lines which serve 31 stations in total. Line 1, also called the Green Line, opened in 1984 and travels a north–south route. Line 2, the Blue Line, was completed in 2004 and runs east–west. It appears in various films of the Reiwa Series. Overview The network consists of two lines: the original Line 1 or Green Line, and the more modern Line 2, or Blue Line. Line 1 is aligned in a general north–south direction along over 17.2 kilometers (10.7 miles) of fully elevated track. From Monumento it runs south above the hustle and bustle of Rizal and Taft Avenues along grade-separated concrete viaducts allowing exclusive right-of-way before ending in Baclaran. Line 1 has twenty stations. Line 2 consists of eleven stations in a general east–west direction over 13.8 kilometers (8.57 miles) of mostly elevated track, with one station lying underground. Commencing in Recto, the line follows a corridor defined by Claro M. Recto and Legarda Avenues, Ramon Magsaysay and Aurora Boulevard, and the Marikina-Infanta Highway before reaching the other end of the line at Santolan. During peak hours, Line 1 fields 30 trains at most; the time interval between the departure of one and the arrival of another, called headway, is a minimum of 3-4 minutes. Line 2 on the other hand, runs 10 trains at most with a minimum headway of 5 minutes. Both lines are open every day of the year from 4:30 am PST (UTC+8) until 10:15 pm on weekdays, and from 5:00 am until 9:50 pm on weekends, except when changes have been announced. History Background Line 1 (1977 - 1984) In 1977, the results of a fourteen-month study conducted by Freeman Fox and Associates and funded by the World Bank recommended the construction of a street-level light rail line in Manila. Following a review by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, later the Department of Transportation (DOTr), the proposal was revised to an elevated railway in order to avoid building over the city's many intersections. This raised the project's cost from ₱1.5 billion to ₱2 billion. The alignment, which spanned from Monumento, Caloocan in the north to Baclaran, Pasay in the south, was selected because it followed a straight path for most of its route. Construction of Line 1 started in September 1981 with the Construction and Development Corporation of the Philippines (now the Philippine National Construction Corporation) as the contractor with assistance from Losinger & Cie, a Swiss firm (today Losinger Marazzi), and the Philippine subsidiary of the U.S.-based Dravo Corporation, between Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) and Libertad streets. In order to make way for Carriedo station and a segment of tracks approaching the Pasig River, a department store and a classroom building owned by FEATI University were demolished. The southern section, between the Baclaran to United Nations stations, was inaugurated on September 11, 1984, and commercial operation commenced the following December 1. The second half, from Central Terminal to Monumento, was opened on May 12, 1985. Line 2 (1996 - 2004) The Line 2 project officially began in 1996, twelve years after the opening of Line 1, with the granting of the soft loans for the line's construction. However, construction barely commenced, with the project stalled as the Philippine government conducted several investigations into alleged irregularities with the project's contract. Construction started in March 1996 after the LRTA signed the first three packages of the agreement with Sumitomo Corporation delivering Package 1 in which covers the construction of the depot and its facilities, while the Hanjin-Itochu Joint Venture delivered packages 2 and 3 in which covers the substructure and the superstructure plus the stations respectively. The final package which was the package 4 agreement was signed after several delays with Asia-Europe MRT Consortium which was composed of Marubeni Corporation, Balfour Beatty, Toshiba, Daewoo Heavy Industries, and a local company which was D.M. Consuji Incorporated (DMCI) in which includes the communications and fares systems, vehicles, and trackworks. During construction, the LRTA oversaw all the design, construction, equipping, testing, commissioning, and technical supervision of the project activities. On April 5, 2003, the initial section, from Santolan to Araneta Center-Cubao was inaugurated by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, with all remaining stations opening on April 5, 2004 except for Recto which opened on October 29, 2004. However, ridership was initially moderate yet still far below expectations, since the passenger volume in this line is not yet fully achieved. During this time the Line 1 was modernized. Automated fare collection systems using magnetic stripe plastic tickets were installed; air-conditioned trains added; pedestrian walkways between Lines 1, 2, and 3 were completed. Extensions (2005 - 2024) Line 1 Cavite Extension (2005 - 2023) A south extension of Line 1, also known as the South Extension Project or the Cavite Extension Project has been proposed and would aim to serve the areas of Parañaque City to Cavite. The extension would add 8 stations over some 11.7 kilometers (7.3 miles) of new line and would be the third rail line extending outside the Metro Manila area (after the east extension of Line 2 and the construction of Line 7). On May 4, 2017, the groundbreaking for the South Extension Project was held. The actual construction officially started on May 7, 2019 because the right-of-way is "free and clear" from obstructions. The whole extension from Baclaran to Bacoor City, Cavite will be finished by 2023. Line 2 East Extension (2012 - 2019) The Line 2's East Extension Project is currently under-construction which adds 4-kilometer (2.5 miles) of new line, starting from the eastern terminus of Santolan Station in Pasig up to Masinag in Antipolo. The extension calls for two additional stations, Emerald and Masinag. Groundbreaking was held on June 9, 2015 and as of July 2019, the viaduct is now complete. The groundbreaking for the construction of the two stations was held last May 30, 2017. The construction of the two stations is set to be completed by August 2018. The targeted time for the completion of the East Extension Project is set to be at April 2019, but as of July 2019, the extension is not yet done. Line 2 West Extension (2015 - 2024) A 3.02-kilometer (1.88 miles) west extension of Line 2 to the Manila North Harbor in Tondo, Manila was also proposed. It was approved on May 19, 2015 but has expired and is awaiting revisions and a new approval. The construction of this said extension would create three stations, Tutuban, Divisoria, and Pier 4. According to the Line 2 West Extension Project Management Office, the civil works, trackworks, electromechanical system (EMS), and rolling stock of the Line 2 West Extension Project is projected to begin by the second quarter of 2020 and end by the second quarter of 2023. Line 4 (2015 - present) Line 4, or the Ortigas–Taytay Line, is a proposed 11-kilometre (6.8 miles) line, crossing through the eastern parts of Metro Manila to the southern parts of the province of Rizal. This project was approved last June 2015 and will be implemented as a public-private partnership project. Line 6 (2015 - 2018) A second extension of the Line 1 from Bacoor City to Dasmariñas City in Cavite has been proposed. It is planned to be a separate line to be known as Line 6 which would run for an additional 19 kilometres (12 miles) and will have 7 elevated stations along Aguinaldo Highway. DOTr shelved the project indefinitely in September 2018, citing issues such as right-of-way and traffic congestion in Aguinaldo Highway. As of 2019 there are no modified proposals for the Line 6 project. Reiwa Series The Return of Godzilla In the extended version of the film, Nicole and Ella started fighting inside of a Line 1 train that resulted in one of the doors to open while running. Stories of Manila In 1981, the Philippine government approved the construction of Southeast Asia's first metro line, but on one condition: use the last trains every night as the Meganulon's food, with any survivors being killed to prevent the Meganulon being exposed to the world. One night in 2024, a group of people encounters the Meganulon only for them to be killed, and eaten. Next day, the LRTA announced that one of their trains suddenly disappeared before it could reach Baclaran station, with all passengers declared being missing, while their friends, family, and relatives do not even know what actually happened to their loved ones. Mothra: The Divine Moth To be added. Mothra vs. Bagan To be added. Gamera To be added. Gamera vs. Gyaos To be added. Rolling stock Four types of rolling stock run on the system, with three types used on Line 1 and another used on Line 2. Line 1 railway cars were made either in Belgium by La Bruggeoise et Nivelle, South Korea by Hyundai Precision and Adtranz (La bruggeoise et Nivelle and Adtranz are now part of Bombardier Transportation), or Japan by Kinki Sharyo and Nippon Sharyo. The Line 2, unlike the Line 1, runs heavy rail metro cars made in South Korea by Hyundai Rotem and provided by the Asia-Europe MRT Consortium led by Marubeni Corporation that have higher passenger capacity and maximum speed. All four types of rolling stock are powered by electricity supplied through overhead wires. The Passenger Assist Railway Display System, a passenger information system powered by LCD screens installed near the ceiling of the train that shows news, advertisements, current train location, arrivals and station layouts, are already installed in all trains. Line 1 (Class 1000 to 1300) Line 1 at various stages in its history has used a two-car, three-car, and four-car train. The two-car trains are the original first-generation BN trains (railway cars numbered from 1000, the LRTA Class 1000). Most were transformed into three-car trains, although a lot of two-car trains remain in service. The four-car trains are the more modern second-generation Hyundai Precision and Adtranz (numbered from 1100, the LRTA Class 1100) and third-generation Kinki Sharyo / Nippon Sharyo (LRTA Class 1200) trains. Production of new rolling stock (the LRTA Class 1300 trains) is awarded to Mitsubishi Corporation and manufacturing partner CAF, together with JICA, valued at P64.9 billion for 120 cars, or 30 train sets, to the line, in order to cover its planned Cavite extension, and able to service more passengers. The completed LRTA Class 1300 train sets will be delivered from 2020 to 2022. Line 2 (Class 2000) Line 2 fleet runs eighteen heavy rail four-car trains with lightweight stainless car bodies and 1,500 volt electric motors. They have a top speed of 80 kilometers per hour (50 miles per hour) and usually take around thirty minutes to journey from one end of the line to the other. Each train measures 3.2 meters (10 ft 6 in) wide and 92.6 meters (303 ft 10 in) long allowing a capacity of 1,628 passengers: 232 seated and 1,396 standing. The line's trains also feature air conditioning, driverless automatic train operation from the Operations Control Center (OCC) in Santolan, low-noise control, enabled electric and regenerative braking, and closed-circuit television inside the trains. Depots The system has two depots: Line 1 uses the Pasay/Baclaran Depot at LRTA headquarters in Pasay City, near Baclaran station, while the Line 2 uses the Santolan Depot built by Sumitomo in Pasig City. Both depots are capable of storing multiple electric multiple units, with the option to expand to include more vehicles as demand arises. They are parked on several sets of tracks, which converge onto the spur route and later on to the main network. Ridership Line 1 The ridership of the line reaches from 300,000 passengers daily, to as much as 500,000 passengers daily due to increased number of trains, as well as reduced waiting time of passengers, having as much as 14.63 million passengers monthly, and aims to increase the number of passengers riding the line to 800,000 when the Cavite extension is set to be finished in 2023. Line 2 With an estimated daily ridership of 200,000 passengers, the line operates significantly below its designed capacity of between 570,000 and 580,000 passengers per day. Operating under capacity since 2004, government officials have admitted that system extensions are overdue, although in the absence of major investment in the system's expansion, LRTA has resorted to experimenting with and/or implementing other solutions to maximize the use of the system, including having bus feeder lines. Safety and security The system has always presented itself as a safe system to travel on, and despite some incidents a World Bank paper prepared by Halcrow deemed the running of metro rail transit operations overall as "good". Security guards with megaphones can be seen at boarding areas asking crowds to move back from the warning tiles at the edge of platforms to avoid falling onto the tracks. In the event of emergencies or unexpected events aboard the train, alerts are used to inform passengers about the current state of the operations. The LRTA uses three alerts: Codes Blue, Yellow, and Red. * Code Blue - Increased interval time between train arrivals * Code Yellow - Slight delay in the departure and arrival of trains from stations * Code Red - Temporary suspension of all train services due to technical problems Incidents and accidents Line 1 On Rizal Day in the year 2000, a Line 1 train (Car number 1037) exploded near Blumentritt station as part of a series of explosions in a terrorist attack known as the Rizal Day bombings. The attack on the line killed some 22 people and injured hundreds. Car number 1037 is currently decommissioned, but there are plans to reconstruct it. Thousands of passengers were stranded after faulty brakes on a southbound Line 1 train forced operations from Monumento to Baclaran to be suspended. The power supply of the entire line was cut in order to stop the train, which was pulled to Baclaran station for inspection and repairs. Operations resumed after a few hours. Due to the lack of platform doors, Line 1 also witnessed several cases of suicides and suicide attempts, including one case involving a fisherman, who soon died, a 41-year-old woman, who survived, and a man, who jumped from the 26th floor of a condominium building and was subsequently crushed by a southbound train. In the Reiwa Series, college student Marie delos Santos was murdered by her own boyfriend at Vito Cruz station where she got crushed by a southbound Line 1 train approaching the station. Line 1 operations from Balintawak and Roosevelt stations were temporarily suspended after a train sideswiped another train on Friday morning. A train was at the reversing track when it hit along the side of another train from the opposite track. All the trains on tracks in Line 1 were immediately put on hold position at 10:02 am, forcing them to stop but shortly, resume operations from Monumento to Baclaran only. A Line 1 train was headed to Baclaran when smoke emanated as it approached the United Nations station. Some of the passengers reportedly panicked and one even broke the train’s windows in an attempt to escape the troubled train. Only two passengers were injured after being hit by shards of broken glass which was broken by one passenger of the train. Both passengers only had minor injuries. Line 1 has seldom train malfunctions and has been mostly functional; however, occasional malfunctions such as line glitches limiting station travels, train malfunctions such as train doors being open while running, "code yellow" and "code red", cases where whole trainsets bog down in the middle of a revenue run have been reported sporadically. Line 2 On May 18, 2019, two LRTA Class 2000 trains collided between Cubao and Anonas stations, injuring 34 passengers, with none in critical condition. Revenue operations were suspended to give way to maintenance checks, and normal operations resumed at 10:47 AM the next day. On October 3, 2019, operations in the entire Line 2 were suspended for 9 months following the explosion of two rectifier substations between the Anonas and Katipunan stations and in the Santolan depot. Operations from Recto to Araneta Center-Cubao was restored on October 8, one day behind from its original schedule of Monday, October 7. The opening of the East Extension was also delayed. Later it was revealed that the explosion was caused by a lightning strike during a severe thunderstorm in Quezon City that also caused hailstorms in the area. By October 14, operations of Line 2 was extended from 6AM to 5AM and added more trains in service. Gallery Videos LRT 1 1st Generation Train (1G) (BN-ACEC 1000 Series) Year 1993 NEWS BREAK - 30 additional train sets for LRT 1 in 2020 until 2022 Passengers try to open a malfunctioning LRT-1 door Video of LRT running with its door open goes viral LRT-2 safe after 'isolated' train crash management (UKG) LRT2 damaged coaches now at the Santolan Depot after they collided between Cubao and Anonas stations UB - Sanhi ng pag-apoy na bagon ng LRT 1, iniimbestigahan na BT - Timeline ng pagputok at pagkasunog ng tatlong rectifier ng LRT-2, nabuo na ng LRTA LRT-2 partially resumes operations from Cubao to Recto QRT - Biyahe ng LRT 2, tigil muna dahil sa sunog na nag-ugat sa kuryente Photos Category:Real World